More than 60 rules and regulations are spelled out in full and posted in every park in the county, many of which are already covered by state and local laws.

Jason Boeger, Coordinator of Park Maintenance and Operations for Ottawa Co. Parks says they may seem excessive, but the rules are there to uphold the integrity of all every park.

"There are a lot of rules and most of them are common sense," Boerger said. "The rules help us keep our maintenance cost down and keeps the public safe."

Section 11. HUNTING, FISHING & TRAPPING

11.1 No person, while on Commission Park Property shall remove, hunt, trap, wound, kill, molest or in any other way harm any living thing, unless prior written permission is obtained from the Commission or its Agent

The rules were drafted in 1987 but the commission has recently updated those rules to address drones and e-cigarettes. All 90 signs throughout the parks will soon be replaced with an updated version, which will also include the department's Twitter and Facebook handles.

"So when we change our rules we don’t take it lightly because we have to print and post 90 of these signs," Boerger said.

The rules may seem overwhelming but park officials say some rules are more heavily enforced than others, like their two-hour parking limit and dog leash requirements. And if you break them, you could see a $100 fine.

"We’re not out there to try and get people, we’re offering warnings or just informative stops between the visitors and the staff," Boerger said. "I hope people do read them. Those who don't are probably following 99 percent of them without even knowing it because they're common sense."

3 comments

Now That's Funny!

Son of a beach

There is no point going to the beach. You an’t do anything once your there.
Nice to see the smoke Nazis got their way. How I wonder is second hand smoke an issue in the great outdoors ?
And of course “no cruising”. We cant have people having fun.